Professor
Course
Date
Child Abuse Child abuse is any form of maltreatment to a child or children and could either be physical, emotional, or sexual. It can also be described as an act or failure to act by a parent or caretaker which results to harm of the child. There are four major forms of child abuse, Physical, abuse which is the infliction of serious injuries or actions that may lead to infliction of injuries or death. Sexual abuse is a situation where an adult engages in sex with a child. Emotional abuse, is the psychological torture of a child by an adult and child neglect, which is failure of a parent or caretaker to execute his or her responsibilities towards a child through for example providing the basic needs. There has been vast cases of child abuse that have prompted many different countries to develop ‘Child governing laws’ as well as the formation of a UN agencies that focus on children (UNICEF and WHO). One of the main causes of child abuse is the lack of basic knowledge and skills to bring up the children (Bass, 153). A clear evidence can be cited in the way most parents tend to instill discipline in their children. Most do not believe in the art of correcting their children through oral guidance and counseling but instead prefer caning hence inflicting serious injuries to the children. Other parents tend to set high targets for their children which results to disagreements and abuse in case the targets are not met. The belief that ‘you have the right to treat your own child as you wish’ is also common to many parents and hence they to maltreat their children in case of a disagreement. Outdated cultural beliefs are also a major cause of child abuse. A good example is in some communities in Africa where girls are forced to Female Genital Mutilation which is a rite of passage of those
Cited: Carole Jenny 2010 Child Abuse and Neglect Elsevier Health Sciences Ellen Bass : Laura Davis 2011 The Courage To Heal Ebury Publishing John E.B.Myers 1998 Legal Issues In Child Abuse And Neglect Practice Sage Retrieved from: www.ncjrs.gov History: National Criminal and Justice Reference Service